The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu addressing the 19th Convocation of National Board of Examinations, in New Delhi on September 21, 2018.

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The Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu today addressed the 19^thConvocation of National Board of Examinations (NBE), an autonomous body of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in presence of Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey and SmtAnupriya Patel, Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare. At the convocation ceremony, 306 doctors received the Gold Medal in their respective specialty and 61 medical teachers werehonored for their exemplary work in the field of modern medicine. NBE also conferred degrees to 20,534 Post Graduates doctors.

Addressing the participants, the Vice President of India stated that as medical scientists, epidemiologists and clinicians, they must continue their experiments with truth and extend the frontiers of scientific and medical knowledge. The Vice President advised the doctors to always be observant and curious and develop intrinsic virtues of inquiry, exploration, analysis, discussion, patience, tolerance, humanism and an inclusive outlook. “It is these qualities which shall take you far,” he said.

In his address, the Vice President further stated that as doctors, you have an unprecedented opportunity to serve and be a part of this inclusive growth that India is aiming for with sharp focus on cleanliness and affordable healthcare. “We must find ways and means to ensure that every citizen benefits from the advancements in medicine” he added. The Vice President urged the doctors to serve in rural areas.

Congratulating the students,Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State forHealth and Family Welfare said that the students graduating today must not stop learning and should always enhance their skills and knowledge. They must not also forget their responsibility towards the society and the patients they are treating. “The main aim of your training is to serve people and poverty should never come in between. The advice you give to your patients should not result in destitution. No person should be left without treatment due to lack of money,” Shri Choubey said.

Highlighting the initiatives of the Ministry, Shri Choubeystated thatAyushman Bharat programme is aimed at making path breaking interventions to address health holistically, covering both prevention and health promotion components. Under this 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres will bring healthcare system closer to the homes of people. These centres will provide comprehensive primary health care, including that for non-communicable diseases and maternal and child health services. ShriChoubey further stated that the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (PMJAY) will be launched by Honorable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on 23^rd September from Jharkhand and will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (more than 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage upto 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.

Speaking at the function, SmtAnupriya Patel,Minister of State forHealth and Family Welfare stated that for those who are getting their degrees, the challenges of life have just begun and nobody knows in what manner the challenges will unfold. She further added that from a protected atmosphere of being a student and always being worked under supervision, you will enter into a world where you will be expected to work and take decisions independently and will be fully liable for your actions. “It is here that your knowledge and skills coupled with experience of the learned seniors will guide you to make a remarkable impact on the society and achieve success in true means,” she said.

SmtAnupriya Patel further said that we need to focus on providing adequate number of healthcare service providers through capacity building without affecting the quality of the healthcare services. To achieve this objective, we need teachers to train the human resource in healthcare delivery. “The government has taken several steps on this from by increasing the number of medical colleges, introduction of NEET at all levels to get rid of multiple entrance exams and to ensure greater transparency”, she elaborated.

NBE is a key organization of Health Ministry which was setup in 1982 with the prime objective of conducting uniform and high standard examinations in the field modern medicine and provides trained manpower in the form of medical specialists to the country.

NBE is credited with conducting maximum and largest number of examinations for Graduate and Post Graduate Doctors. NBE has been entrusted with task of conducting National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test – Post Graduate (NEET-PG) and NEET-SS which are the only examinations for admission to Broad and Super Specialty Medical courses respectively. NBE is also a nodal agency for conducting the licensing examination for Indian Citizens who have obtained their MBBS equivalent outside India.

NBE has been providing more than 8000 specialists in modern medicine every year utilizing the existing infrastructure of Private and Government Hospitals. NBE has pioneered starting of Post Graduate courses in district hospitals of the country.